Plastic tie display package

ABSTRACT

A display package that has top and bottom walls each wall having an interior and a periphery. A side wall connects the peripheries of the top and bottom walls to define an enclosure and dividing walls extending up from the bottom wall toward the top wall to divide the enclose into a plurality of compartments for containing articles. The top wall defines a cover panel opposite each compartment, each cover panel extending from a hinge line in the interior of the top wall to a location adjacent to the periphery of the top wall. Each cover panel is swingable using a finger access hole in the panel, about that hinge line between a closed position wherein the cover panel lies substantially parallel to said bottom wall and closes the associated compartment and an open position wherein the cover panel is swung away from the bottom wall and partially exposes the associated compartment. Each cover panel is releasably retained in its closed position so that the package can be hung on edge from a support, and constructs an attractive point of sale display for the articles therein.

This invention relates to a container or package for displaying anddispensing small articles. It is particularly suitable for containingand displaying elongated articles which may come in different lengthssuch as cable ties, cotton swab sticks and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The prior art is replete with containers and packages for displaying anddispensing articles of one kind or another. These conventionalcontainers range all the way from plastic bags and boxes to blisterpacks which usually comprise a see-through-thermoformed shell bonded toa backing card. Some of these packages include provision for accessingthe interior of the blister pack by way of a door or cover panel in theshell or in the backing card. Usually these blister packs are eachdedicated to a specific article. In other words, they are notcompartmentalized and designed to provide independent access to thevarious compartments. Those containers and packages that do provide forsuch independent access are unduly complex and costly so that they arenot economical for containing very inexpensive articles such as cableties and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it an object of the present invention to provide animproved container for containing and displaying a multiplicity ofinexpensive items.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container such as thiswhich provides ready access to those articles without opening up theentire container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container which isespecially adapted to hold various different species of the same basicarticle and to provide ready access to selected ones of those specieswithout disturbing the others.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a container of thistype which is relatively easy and inexpensive to make.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such a container orpackage which can be accessed many times without jeopardizing theoverall integrity of the container or package.

Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appearhereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements and an arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the followed detailed description, and the scope of theinvention will be indicated in the claims.

Briefly my container comprises top and bottom sections, each sectionpreferably being thermoformed of a suitable transparent plasticmaterial. The bottom section of the container is provided with aplurality of pockets or compartments designed and dimensioned to containa multiplicity of elongated articles such as cable ties so that thearticles have a preferred orientation in each compartment. The variouscompartments may have different lengths to accommodate different lengtharticles.

The top section of the container is co-extensive with the bottom sectionand is adapted to cover all of the pockets or compartments in the lattersection. The top and bottom sections each have peripheral edge marginswhich interfit with those of the other section so that the two sectionsmay be press fit together all along their peripheries to form tightenclosures for the articles. Those sections may also have additionalinterfitting surfaces between at least some of the various pockets toisolate those compartments and to rigidify the container.

In accordance with the invention, the top section of the container isformed with a plurality of discrete cover panels located directly abovethe plurality of pockets in the bottom section. These cover panels arehinged to the top section so that they can be swung between a closedposition wherein they completely cover the underlying pockets in thebottom section and an open position when they expose at least portionsof the associated pockets. Each cover panel may correspond to a singlepocket or overlie a plurality of adjacent pockets, usually, but notnecessarily, pockets having the same dimensions.

As will be described in more detail later, each cover panel is providedwith edge margins which are shaped to interfit with the walls of theunderlying pocket in the bottom section so that when that panel is swungto its closed position, it is releasably retained in that position.

Preferably also, each cover panel is formed with a flexible resilientflap spaced from that panel's hinge to the top section. That flapnormally reposes in a “home” position in the same plane as theassociated cover panel. However, that flap may be deflected downward bya user's finger enabling that finger to engage under an edge margin ofthat cover panel and lift that panel to gain access to the contents ofthe associated pocket or pockets in the bottom section.

As we shall see, my container is constructed so that it can withstandrough handling even to the extent of being dropped on the floor. Alsofor the same reason, it can be suspended on edge in a display rack orthe like without any mixing or disorientation of the contents of thevarious compartments therein. Still further, the container isconstructed so that its cover panels can withstand repeated openings andclosings to access the container contents so that the container shouldhave a relatively long useful life. In other words, it should last aslong as any articles remain in the container. Yet with all of theseadvantages, the container is still relatively easy and inexpensive tomake in quantity. Therefore it should prove to be a highly desirable andmarketable product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be made to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container incorporating the inventionand with all of its cover panels in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the container showing certain cover panelsin their open positions;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the components of theFIGS. 1 and 2 container, and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of the FIG. 2container in greater detail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, my container comprises abottom section or base 10 and a top section or cover 12. Both sectionsare thermoformed of a suitable transparent plastic material such aspolyethylene. The illustrated sections 10 and 12 are rectangular.However, they could just as well be circular, oval, etc.

As best seen in FIG. 3, base 10 is formed with a plurality of pockets orcompartments occupying most of its area. By way of illustration, theillustrated section 10 has two long parallel compartments C₁ and C₂, andthree shorter parallel compartments C₃, C₄ and C₅, all of which extendperpendicular to compartments C, and C₂. Each compartment C₁ to C₅ isadapted to contain a multiplicity of similar elongated articles such ascable ties T (FIG. 4). Thus, the two long compartments C₁ and C₂, maycontain long yellow and blue cable ties respectively, while the threeshorter compartments C₃ to C₅ may contain shorter, yellow, red andorange ties, respectively. The dimensions of the compartments are suchthat the articles in each compartment are all gathered together andoriented in more or less the same direction. In other words, while thebottom section 10 as a whole is intended to support articles of ageneral type or genus, the various compartments therein are designed tosupport various species within that genus. While the elongated articlesin the compartments C₁ to C₅ of section 10 are shown as being cableties, they could just as well be cotton swab sticks, pencils, threadedfasteners, etc. with different lengths or other characteristics.

As shown in FIG. 3, bottom section 10 is formed with a peripheral margin14 which lies in or defines a given plane, while the remainder ofsection 10 lies in a different plane spaced above margin 14. Moreparticularly, there is a raised edge margin 16 a around each compartmentC₁ to C₅ and raised portions 16 b between adjacent compartments. Forreasons that will become apparent, edge margin 14 has coplanarextensions or indents 14 a which project somewhat into the portions 16 bbetween the various compartments C₁ to C₅. Also for reasons to bedescribed later, a plurality of dimples 18 are formed in the bottomsection portions 16 b between the compartments C, to C₅.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, a tab 22 projects from a side of bottomsection 10, and an opening 24 is formed in that tab. Tab 22 may be usedto suspend the container from a pin or peg projecting from a point ofsale display rack or from a workshop wall.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the top section of cover 12 is a moreor less flat part which is shaped and sized so that it can besuperimposed on and secured to bottom section 10. Section 12 is formedwith an edge margin 32 which is dimensioned to register with edge margin14 of section 10 when the former section is superimposed on the lattersection. Inboard margin 32 are raised portions 34 a and 34 b which aredimensioned so that when section 12 is superimposed on section 10,raised portion 34 a is located above compartments C₁ and C₂ while raisedportion 34 b is positioned directly above compartments C₃ to C₅. Thoseportions 34 a and 34 b are relieved to provide edge margin extensions orindents 32 a that lie in the same plane as edge margin 32 so that whenthe two sections 10, 12 are brought together, indents 32 a are inregister with the indents 14 a of bottom section 10.

Still referring to FIG. 3, top section 12 is formed with a plurality ofcover panels in raised portions 34 a and 34 b for the compartments C₁ toC₅ in bottom section 10. More specifically, there are two side-by-sidecover panels 36 a and 36 b in raised portion 34 a and three side-by-sidepanels 36 c, 36 d and 36 e in raised portion 34 b. Each cover panelextends from an outer edge of portion 34 a or 34 b inward to a hingeline L. The hinge lines L, L of panels 36 a and 36 b are co-linear asare the hinge lines L, L, L of panels 36 c-36 e, the latter hinge linesbeing perpendicular to the corner. Panels 36 a and 36 b are shown asbeing joined together by a web 42. However, they could just as well beseparated by slitting web 42 in a direction perpendicular to thecorresponding hinge lines L, L as shown by the slit S separating coverpanels 36 d and 36 e in FIG. 1. In any event, the cover panels 36 a and36 b are separated from the remainder of the raised portion 34 a topsection 12 by a cut line 44 which extends from the outer ends of hingelines L, L and continues in a direction parallel to the outer edge ofportion 34 a edge margin 14. This defines the cover panels and allowsthe panels 36 a and 36 b to be swung about their hinge lines between aclosed position shown in FIG. 1 and an open position illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 4.

A similar cut line 44 extends between the outer ends of hinge lines L,L, L separating cover panels 36 c-36 e from the remainder of coverportion 34 b, allowing those panels to be swung between open and closedpositions. When top section or cover 12 is positioned properly on bottomsection or base 10, the cover margin 32 is in register with the basemargin 14 and the indents 32 a of the cover are in register with indents14 a of the base. To hold the two sections together, the side walls ofthe raised portions 34 a and 34 b of section 12 frictionally engage onand around the raised edge margins 16 a of the base 10. Also, dimples 48are provided in the cover portions 34 a, 34 b which are dimensioned andpositioned to plug into the dimples 18 in the base. To permanentlysecure the top and bottom sections together an adhesive or bonding agent(not shown) may be applied between the edge margins and indents of thetwo sections and/or between dimples 18 and 48.

It is a feature of the invention that special means are provided in topsection 12 for strengthening the cover panels 36 a to 36 e and theirconnections to raised portions 34 a and 34 b of that section so that thecover panels can be opened and closed many times without failure. Also,the cover panels are specially designed to facilitate their opening andclosing and to releasably retain the cover panels in their closedpositions.

More particularly as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, each cover panel 36 ato 36 e is formed as a pan with a flat recessed bottom wall 52, and anupstanding side wall 54 which extends parallel to the corresponding cutline 44 to the opposite ends of the corresponding hinge line L. Sidewall 54 has an outwardly extending flange or lip 56 whose outer edge 56a corresponds to one side of the cut line 44. The outer dimensions ofthe side wall 54 of each cover panel are such that when the cover panelis swung to its closed position shown in FIG. 1, the side wall 54 ofthat panel fits tightly within, and frictionally engages the side wallsof the underlying compartment in base 10, while the corresponding flangeor lip 56 extends out and overhangs the edge margin 16 a surrounding theunderlying compartment and establishes the closed position of that coverpanel. In other words, when sections 10 and 12 are assembled, the bottomwalls 52 of the cover panels 36 a to 36 e are recessed so that they alllie in a plane that is spaced below the plane defined by edge margin 14of section 10 so that the side walls 54 of those panels frictionallyengage the sidewalls of compartments C₁ to C₅, thereby tending to retainthose panels in their closed positions. When the panels are closed, thepanel flange edges 56 a abut edges 60 of the raised portions 16 a, 16 bsurrounding the underlying compartments. Those latter edges 60 definethe other sides of the cut lines 44.

To facilitate opening panels 36 a to 36 e, the bottom wall 52 of eachpanel is provided with a generally U-shaped cut line 62 lying close tothe segment of side wall 54 directly opposite the corresponding hingeline L. Each cut line 62 defines a flexible resilient flap 64, which isnormally coplanar with the remainder of bottom wall 52, but which can beflexed downwardly as shown in FIG. 4 to provide a clearance hole for afinger to engage under the free edge of that cover panel in order topull upward on the panel to gain access to the underlying compartmentand its contents.

It is important to note that the cover panels 36 a to 36 e aredimensioned so that they overlie only a fraction, preferably no morethan half, of the areas of the underlying compartments C₁ to C₅. Thisensures that when a cover panel is in its open position, articles can bewithdrawn easily from the associated compartment(s) without anyappreciable likelihood of the articles falling out of the compartment(s)even if the container should be shaken or tipped to some extent.

To optimize the strength of the hinge connections at hinge lines L ofthe cover panels to the remainder of top section 12, the dimples 48 inthat cover section and the underlying dimples 18 to which they areanchored are strategically located close to the opposing ends of thehinge lines L of the adjacent panels 36 a and 36 b, on the one hand, andpanels 36 c to 36 e on the other. In other words, dimples 48 are locatedadjacent to the inner-ends of the webs 42 between panels so that thedimples 48 provide reinforcement to, but do not hinder the opening andclosing of, the cover panels 36 a to 36 e. Preferably, arcuate slits 66separate the dimples 48 from the adjacent webs 42 to ease theopening/closing of the associated cover panel(s). Of course, if a web 42is slitted as shown at S in FIG. 1 so that the adjacent cover panels maybe opened and closed independently, the corresponding slit S shouldextend from the arcuate slit 66 perpendicular to hinge lines L to thecut line 44 of those panels.

The container described herein can be hung by way of its tab 22 from apeg or pin on a point of sale rack. Being transparent, the verticallyorientated container exposes its contents and thus provides anattractive point of sale display.

As a direct result of above described construction of the container, thecontainer provides a very sturdy enclosure for the container contents inthe event the container is handled roughly or even dropped. For the samereason, the container cover panels may be opened and closed repeatedlywithout fear of failure and when closed, they are securely retained intheir closed positions, but may be opened easily due to the hingingstructure and the convenient finger access holes provided in thosepanels.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above among those madeapparent from the preceding description are efficiently attained. Also,since certain changes may be made in the above construction withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

It is also to be understood the following claims are intended to coverall of the generic and specific features of the invention describedherein.

1. A container comprising top and bottom walls each wall having aninterior and a periphery; a side wall connecting the peripheries of thetop and bottom walls to define an enclosure for articles; dividing wallsextending up from the bottom wall toward the top wall to divide theenclosure into a plurality of compartments each of which has side wallinterior surfaces and an entrance opening, said top wall defining acover panel opposite the entrance opening of each compartment, eachcover panel extending from a hinge line in the interior of the top wallto an edge located adjacent to the periphery of the top wall and beingswingable about said hinge line between a closed position wherein thecover panel lies substantially parallel to said bottom wall and closesthe entrance opening of the associated compartment and an open positionwherein the cover panel is swung away from said bottom wall and exposesthe associated compartment, and retainer means for releasably retainingeach cover panel in said closed position.
 2. The container defined inclaim 1 wherein at least two of said plurality of compartments and theirassociated cover panels are arranged side by side in a row so that thehinge lines of their associated cover panels are collinear and extendperpendicular to the dividing wall separating at least two compartments.3. The container defined in claim 2 wherein the top wall also defines aweb extending between two adjacent cover panels in said row so that saidtwo adjacent cover panels move in unison between their open and closedpositions.
 4. The container defined in claim 2 wherein said top wall isanchored to the dividing wall between said collinear hinge lines.
 5. Thecontainer defined in claim 4 and further including a slit in the topwall said slit extending between the opposing ends of said collinearhinge lines.
 6. The container defined in claim 1 wherein the length ofeach cover panel is no more than about half the length of the associatedcompartment.
 7. The container defined in claim 1 wherein each coverpanel includes a flexible resilient flap adjacent to said edge of thatpanel to allow finger access under that panel in order to lift thatpanel away from said bottom wall toward its said open position.
 8. Thecontainer defined in claim 1 wherein at least said top wall is of atransparent plastic material.
 9. The container defined in claim 8 andfurther including a perforated hang tab projecting from said side wall.10. The container defined in claim 1 wherein the retainer means for eachcover panel comprise panel exterior surfaces which frictionally engagethe side wall interior surfaces of the associated compartment.
 11. Thecontainer defined in claim 1 where the plurality of compartments includea first pair of adjacent similar compartments having a selected firstlength and a second pair of adjacent similar compartments having aselected second length longer than the first length.
 12. The containerdefined in claim 11 wherein the second pair of compartments extendperpendicular to the first pair of compartments.
 13. The containerdefined in claim 1 and further including a raised reinforcing ribextending around the entrance opening of ends compartment.
 14. Thecontainer defined in claim 13 wherein each cover panel is formed as apair with a bottom wall, a sidewall extending up from the bottom walland an outturned flange at the top of side wall which engages said ribof the associated compartment to establish the closed position of saidcover panel.
 15. A container comprising a bottom section including abottom wall, a side wall extending up from the bottom wall to anoutturned peripheral edge margin which defines a plane and a pluralityof dividing walls which extend up from the bottom wall toward said planeso as to divide the bottom section into a plurality of adjacentcompartments each compartment having a length, a width and an entrance,and a top section having a top wall and a peripheral planar edge marginextending around the top wall said top section being shaped anddimensioned so that when the top section is positioned on the bottomsection the peripheral edge margin of the two sections are in registersaid top section also including cut lines in said top wall defining acover panel opposite each compartment entrance opening in the bottomsection, and cover panel being swingable about a hinge line in the topwall that extends across the width of the associated compartment betweena closed position wherein the cover panel closes the entrance opening ofthe associated compartments and an open position wherein the cover panelis swung away from the entrance opening into the associated compartment,said plurality of cover panels and said bottom sections havinginterfering surfaces which releasably retain said cover panels in theirclosed positions, and securing means for securing said top and bottomsections together.
 16. The container defined in claim 15 wherein atleast one of the top and bottom sections are of a transparent plasticmaterial.
 17. The container defined in claim 15 wherein each cover panelincludes a finger access hole adjacent to an edge of that panel directlyopposite the hinge line thereof.
 18. The container defined in claim 15wherein the entrance opening and cover panel of each compartment occupyonly part of the length thereof.
 19. The container defined in claim 15wherein said securing means comprise a bonding agent between saidperipheral edge margins of the top and bottom sections.
 20. Thecontainer defined in claim 15 wherein said securing means compriseinterfitting dimples formed in the top and bottom sections at thelocations of said dividing walls between adjacent compartments.
 21. Thecontainer defined in claim 20 wherein at least some of said dimples arealigned with the hinge lines of the cover panels associated with saidadjacent compartments.
 22. The container defined in claim 21 and furtherincluding slits in said top wall extending between opposing ends of saidhinge lines and bypassing said dimples to facilitate the opening andclosing of the cover panels.